June 2015

In preparation for my recent workshop at the Adelphi Conference on Clinical Supervision, I decided to focus most of the short session on my research (Pepper, 2014). This decision was based partly on the fact that I didn’t know beforehand the level of experience of workshop...

As I write this, it has been several weeks since I last saw Robert. I doubt that I’ll hear from him again. If he does call, I’ll ask him if he has an objection to my speaking with his psychiatrist, but even if he wants to continue with group I fear that the prognosis is not good....

I was immediately distrustful of the timing of these two calls. It had to be more than coincidence. But what was it? Had Robert’s psychiatrist pressured him to quit? Had Robert placed himself in the middle– playing the good object/ bad object game? Did he want the two of...

I applaud David J. Hellerstein for the bravery he shows in his article, “The Dowdy Patient” (NY Times Sunday Review, June 14th). Dr. Hellerstein honestly laments that he couldn’t help a woman patient that wanted to have a romantic relationship; but who refused...

At our individual session, I asked Robert: “How can I help you today?” He told me that he was very depressed and that the treatment wasn’t working. When I asked him why he thought so, he said that except for the time he comes for therapy or when he volunteers at...

It never ceases to amaze me how bright, psychologically-minded clinicians miss the obvious when it comes to examining their own work. There seems to be a blind spot in regard to self-awareness. Here is a case in point. Recently, I attended a conference on supervision in...

In the new film, LOVE & MERCY, one theme is the relationship between Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys, and his abusive, controlling ‘psycho’-therapist. What does this have to do with the title of this blog about conjoint treatment- you ask? I have been playing a...

My first choice of group member for my celebrity group would be the celebrity du jour, Caitlyn Jenner. Have you noticed that her transgender persona is a supermodel (with a cosmetics line on the way–no less) and not a plain but accomplished woman like Janet Reno, Linda Hunt...

I would love to run a therapy group for celebrities. Call me grandiose, if you like, I’m okay with that; but in my professional daydreams, I have selected famous people from the headlines for my celebrity treatment group. In my biased opinion, one of the major drawbacks of...

Basta! Stop it! I’ve had enough. I actually heard a colleague say something like this in an interview about his new book. The subject of the book? You ask– Yep.You guessed it-NARCISSISM. After listening for what seemed like hours to his use of some variation of the...

The loss of a parent, at any age, is agony . The loss of a parent for a child is a catastrophe. Recently, a young woman patient in her twenties sought treatment for depression after the breakup of her first long term romance. During out initial session, she told me that she...